Politics & Government

Resident Challenges Validity of Consol Site Project

A public hearing took place in front of the Upper St. Clair Zoning Hearing Board Wednesday night.

An Upper St. Clair resident challenged the validity of the text amendment allowing mixed-use development on the former Consol headquarters site on Wednesday night in front of the zoning hearing board.

Moira Cain-Mannix, who is a lawyer and lives on Highgate Road, testified that her chief concern was an increase of traffic at the Route 19 and Fort Couch Road intersection and the traffic that might use Orr Road as a cut-through to avoid the intersection.

"This shopping center is going to drive traffic on residential side streets," she said. "I'm afraid we're going to turn into Mt. Lebanon where people are always cutting through side roads."

Find out what's happening in Upper St. Clairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

During cross-examination, Cain-Mannix chose not to answer a question from the property owners' attorney, Michael Parrish, asking who was paying her legal fees. Her attorney, Thomas Ayoob, said he advised her not to answer the question.

"If there is someone else behind the scene directing litigation, that is illegal," Parrish said in his closing argument. 

Find out what's happening in Upper St. Clairwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Ayoob argued that the zoning ordinance "constitutes spot zoning" because there are residential areas around three sides of the land. He also argued that the ordinance applies only to the Consol site because there are no other special business districts with more than 25 acres in the township.

Upper St. Clair Township solicitor Irving Firman issued two motions to quash the appeal.

All parties agreed Ayoob will have 30 days after receipt of the hearing transcript to write a brief and the township and the property owners' attorneys will have 30 days to respond. Ayoob will then receive an additional 15 days to reply before a final decision is made.

The hearing lasted nearly four hours. Less than a dozen residents attended the hearing.

Cain-Mannix and another neighbor who lives closer to the Consol site, Jarrod Shaw, filed a similar challenge in 2011, claiming that Upper St. Clair changed the property's zoning without following proper procedures, and a Common Pleas Court judge dismissed this past summer.

Meantime, property owners Gerald Cipriani and Hal Kestler are moving forward with plans to construct a Whole Foods, a two-story building comprised of restaurants, shops and offices, and a mix of townhouses and patio homes. They are waiting for a traffic study to be completed before applying for final approval from township officials. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here